Recruiting Hype for the Memphis Tigers

By fagofranklin

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Austin Nichols has committed to the Memphis Tigers. The 6’8 forward from Tennessee has shocked the nation with his decision to play for Memphis. The primary schools that were hoping he would play for them were Dukeand Tennessee. Memphis was considered to be the last school that would have a shot to get him. That in itself, was an action that Memphis took. As we fast-forward to the future, the Tigers 2013-2014 season looks very good.

Austin will create shots for his teammates. Along with getting Austin, Memphis recruited: Nick King, Kuran Iverson, Rashawn Powell and Markel Crawford. This long list of talent will put coach Josh Pastner in the driver’s seat towards a great season. Nichols averaged 18.6 points and 9.6 rebounds last season.

The Memphis backcourt will be something special next season. The Tigers record last year was 26-9 overall and 13-3 in conference play. Their defense was a top ten defense, holding opponents to 38.6 shooting overall. The Tigers play a physical style defensive that creates points for them off of turnovers. They can kill you at any length of the floor.

It is very hard to stop the Memphis offense. The best solution to stop the Tigers will be, the usage of playing man to man defense. This can slow the offense down a little bit. Now with Austin coming into town, Memphis is now a threat. Austin can shoot mid-range at a high percentage and his long arms will in fact affect opponents. The kid has loads of talent and his ability to better his game is natural.